On Monday, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) gave a speech calling for Congress to "Go Big" on deficit reduction.

Hoyer opened by making the case--as we have many times in the past--that there is no conflict between addressing the short-term economic situation and putting the debt on a sustainable path. As he explained:

CBPP released a paper last week re-affirming their support for switching to the chained CPI for calculation inflation adjustments for benefit programs and the tax code.

The U.S. Budget Watch report "Primary Numbers: The GOP Candidates and the National Debt" has generated a lot of buzz since its release last Thursday.

Just when you thought you've seen it all, here's Clint Eastwood on CNBC's "Squawkbox" this morning touting the Fiscal Commission plan. Given the large deficits we face, he supports the idea of bringing it back up for consideration. See the full video below.

The McKinsey Global Institute recently released a report assessing the efforts of the world’s ten largest mature economies (United States, Japan, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Spain, Australia, and South Korea) in deleveraging (essentially, reducing debt) in the aftermath of the great recession.

Supporters of enacting a comprehensive deficit reduction plan got a boost yesterday from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. At a hearing with the House Budget Committee on the economic outlook, Bernanke responded to a question from Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) about the need for a large fiscal plan. He said the following (at the 58:45 mark of the video):

CRFB board member Rudolph Penner recently co-authored a paper that is essentially a retrospective on the 2011 deficit debate. He and Urban Institute colleague John Palmer compared the President's Framework and the House Budget Resolution while also discussing the Budget Control Act that passed in August.

They describe the premise of the paper below:

Earlier this week, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) released a letter to the President and leaders in Congress, urging them to "Go Big" and enact a bold, comprehensive fiscal plan to reduce our nation's debt and deficits. The letter stated that while the savings from the Budget Control Act were a start, a more comprehensive approach will be needed to ensure long-term fiscal stability.

As the GOP primary season moves along to New Hampshire, we continue to look for signs that the candidates are at least as concerned with the country’s fiscal fiasco as voters are. The budget deficit was high on the list of concerns of Iowa caucus goers, according to exit polling, with slightly more than a third of people polled saying it was the most important issue for them.

Today marks the first anniversary of the release of The Moment of Truth, the final report of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, better known as the Fiscal Commission. The report's recommendations covered all areas of the budget -- including entitlements, defense, the tax code, and Social Security -- with a total of $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next ten years.